Ministry of Finance
Sluggishness of real estate sector needs to be addressed; Government is working with RBI to examine how existing laws can be tweaked to help the people who have been affected in the real estate sector: Finance Minister
NSE announces November 3rd to be observed as ‘Retail Investor Day’
The Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs, Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman has said that the real estate sector requires a lot more attention and its prevailing sluggishness needs to be addressed. She informed: “Alternative funds are approaching us saying they would like to work with us, so long as a support mechanism is available for reviving the sector. The real estate sector has a spillover effect on very many sectors; several home-buyers and core industries which supply material are looking up to the Government for solutions, they will benefit from a revival of the real estate sector. The Government is very keen on working with RBI to see how best we can, where necessary, tweak existing laws to help the people who have been affected in the real estate sector”. She was speaking at the silver jubilee celebrations of the National Stock Exchange of India Limited , at its headquarters in Mumbai today.
Chairman, SEBI, Shri Ajay Tyagi; MD & CEO, NSE, Shri Vikram Limaye and leading dignitaries from the industry were present on the occasion, to commemorate the completion of 25 years of electronic trading of equity, which commenced on Thursday, November 3, 1994. Twenty-five years ago, NSE, the world’s first demutualized stock exchange, created a milestone in the history of stock exchanges by establishing widespread national reach for the exchange.
The Finance Minister also said, although India is still dependent on banks for debts and debt functioning, banks alone cannot serve this cause. Applauding the bureaucrats for taking enough efforts for widening and deepening the debt market in India, the Finance Minister appreciated the periodic advice and inputs given by market experts towards making debt and equity markets equally strong determinants of the country’s economic affairs.
The Finance Minister praised National Stock Exchange for showing an extraordinary positive inclination to use technology with an objective “to democratize, to retail & to take stock market to the people” in the last 25 years since its inception. Smt Sitharaman noted that it was after the setting up of NSE that the stock market extended beyond the confines of a few cities and spread out to many more people. She termed bringing so many people into the stock market “an immense achievement for a young stock market” that has created a positive image of India.
The Minister complimented NSE for organizing investor awareness and education camps across the country and in conducting courses on stock market every calendar year, as a result of which Indians are much more informed about the stock market today. She further said that India needs a vibrant stock market, and NSE has proven that it is possible to have completely home-grown sustainable models for stock markets, which many countries want to learn from.
Speaking in favour of the announcement made by NSE today, on observing 3rd November as ‘Retail Investor Day’, the Finance Minister said, it is a fantastic step towards drawing more Indians to the stock market.
NSE organized Closing Bell Ringing ceremony, with the FM, along with Shri Ajay Tyagi and Shri Vikram Limaye, doing the honors of Bell Ringing ceremony, signifying the celebration of 25 years of democratizing Capital Markets in India.
In the keynote address, Chairman of SEBI, Shri Ajay Tyagi said, technology has been a game-changer and has played a major role in transformation of capital markets and that it is going to play an even more important role in the coming days. Blockchain technology has the potential to completely transform the trading, clearing and settlement processes and AI and machine learning can user in changes through services such as robo advisory services, stated Shri Tyagi. A deep and well-functioning bond market would further strengthen the capital market in India, he further stated.
Shri Vikram Limaye, MD & CEO, NSE said, “NSE has been instrumental in democratizing the capital market by launching a unified national market. The exchange provided a platform for improving financial well-being of people and easy access to Capital for all stakeholders. It has also built robust market infrastructure helping Indian markets to be recognized globally. NSE will continue to expand and enlarge the market participant base with its initiatives supporting Indian economy to scale new heights’’. Shri Limaye announced that from now onwards, November 3 would be celebrated as the Retail Investor Day, to commemorate the Silver Jubilee celebrations of Electronic Trading of Equity. The Retail Investor Day would be in alignment with NSE’s stated agenda and vision for financial inclusion which has resulted in one of the largest investor education and literacy programs in the country. Starting from schools and colleges to programmes for investors, for women, special groups like police and armed forces to senior citizens, NSE already covers more than 500 districts and more than 2,500 programs every year.
Amongst those who participated at the occasion were Industry leaders, Bankers, Mutual Fund CEOs and CIOs, Intermediaries, Investors and Professionals from Finance sector.